Sheet prices slipped again this week on what some sources described as a summertime market that has arrived a few weeks earlier than usual. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price was down $15 per ton week-over-week (WoW) to an average of $1,350 per ton ($67.50 per cwt). Other sheet products also fell, with cold-rolled down $30 per […]
North American auto assemblies shrank by 15.8% in April, falling for the first time in 2022 as ongoing supply hurdles mount. Despite the recent decline, North American production has improved since bottoming out last December. April’s results are just 4.6% higher year-on-year (YoY), and still 14.4% below the pre-pandemic period of April 2019. North American […]
Flat Rolled = 51.4 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 48.3 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat rolled inventories declined slightly in April in terms of shipping days of supply, while the amount of material on order rose again. At the end of April, service centers carried 51.4 shipping days of […]
We’ve been writing a lot about fob mill prices falling. That’s not happening in a vacuum. Service center resale prices are coming down as well. That’s notable because service center resale prices, like mill lead times, are usually a reliable indicator of which way steel prices will go in the months ahead. What’s also notable […]
Steel prices have peaked and are trending downward – and fast, according to the latest SMU survey results and comments from market participants. The consensus: the war in Ukraine reset the steel market to roughly where it was on Jan. 1. And now the market is trending downward at least as fast as it was in January […]
The US Department of Commerce has made affirmative preliminary determinations in the trade case investigating the dumping of OCTG by Argentina, Mexico, and Russia. High dumping margins were set for most producers and exporters from the three countries, which could slow down OCTG imports further in an already undersupplied market. Critical circumstances were found to […]
Steel Market Update’s market check this week indicates steel mill lead times are shortening for both sheet and plate products, easing an average of 0.9 weeks compared to two weeks prior. This also marks the first time lead times have fallen consecutively since January. Lead times for all tracked products are now roughly in line with levels […]
Foreign steel imports continue to hold a competitive price advantage over domestic steel, albeit at a slightly lesser potential discount this week compared to last. According to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison, select foreign HRC prices range from $92-345 per ton ($4.6-$17.25 per cwt) cheaper than domestic prices, after taking […]
Total mill shipments of steel products recovered in March following repeated declines at the start the year. March’s mill shipments totaled 8.342 million tons, a 9% increase from February’s 7.655 million tons. Apparent supply also surged in March, up 12.9% versus the prior month, and expanding for the first time in three months. This analysis is based […]
Sheet prices fell hard this week after bouncing around between about $1,440-1,480 per ton ($72-74 per cwt) for much of April. Our average hot-rolled coil price dropped to $1,365 per ton this week, down $75 per ton (5.2%) from $1,440 per ton a week ago and down $115 per ton (7.8%) from $1,480 per ton […]
Sheet prices have fallen sharply following weeks of more modest declines. The big drops this week prompted SMU to shift all its sheet price momentum indicators from neutral to lower. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price plunged $75 per ton ($3.75 per cwt) week-over-week, falling well below the $1,400-per-ton threshold. Cold rolled fell $55 per ton, galvanized […]
The US steel market continues to revert to where it was before the outbreak of war in Ukraine. SMU’s prices for sheet products are lower. Prices abroad are too. The latest bit of evidence: Published mill lead times. Case in point: Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) published updated lead times on Tuesday, May 3. They indicated […]
Foreign steel imports continue to hold a competitive price advantage over domestic steel, with the spread between the two widening nearly every week since mid-March. According to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison, select foreign HRC prices range from $114-375 per ton cheaper than domestic prices, after taking freight costs, trader margins […]
Sheet prices were flat or lower again this week on expectations of lower scrap prices and concerns about increased import competition over the summer months. Hot-rolled coil prices were down $10 per ton, cold-rolled prices were unchanged, galvanized base prices down $30 per ton, and Galvalume base prices down $35 per ton. Plate prices were […]
Steel prices were relatively steady in April, following increases in March. Hot rolled prices were at $1,460 per ton ($73 per cwt) the first week of April, the highest level seen since January 2022. Prices then bounced around within a $30 per ton range for the remainder of the month, with the SMU index averaging $1,450 per ton as […]
Friedman Industries has acquired PlatePlus Inc. facilities in East Chicago, Ind., and Granite City, Ill., including real estate, buildings, equipment, inventory, and other assets. The deal between the two service center groups closed on April 30, Friedman said. It includes not only steel inventory but also customer and supplier networks from Plateplus locations in Loudon, Tenn. […]
The steel market has adapted to the shock of the war in Ukraine – and it’s become clearer with each passing week that a steeper price decline than we have seen to date might be in store. I wrote on Thursday that the headline data from our latest survey indicated the market had peaked. I […]
It’s cliché to compare steel price cycles to a roller coaster. But the description feels apt right now. People in the front can see a big drop coming. People in the back are still climbing. Why do I suggest we’re in for a drop? Our full survey results won’t be released until tomorrow. But we’ve […]
Foreign import prices are gaining a greater competitive advantage over domestic steel this week, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices range from $60-351 per ton cheaper than domestic prices, after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. Recall that the price differentials between […]
Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market indicates steel mill lead times are sideways to down for sheet and plate products, decreasing by an average of 0.4 weeks compared to two weeks prior. This is the first time lead times have declined on average since late January. Hot rolled, cold rolled, and galvanized lead […]
Sheet prices continue to bump around what some sources think might be the top of the market, with prices for most products down modestly week-over-week. Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled prices slipped $30 per ton ($1.50 per cwt). Galvanized base prices were down $20 per ton. And Galvalume prices slipped $45 per ton. The dip comes […]
Distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the construction and HVAC sectors are still seeing strong demand despite record-high prices. But the flurry of buying that happened immediately following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine has slowed, members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) said in their monthly conference call on Tuesday. […]
The competitive advantage import prices hold over domestic steel has increased this week, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices range from $47-335 per ton cheaper than domestic prices, after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. Recall that the price differentials between domestic […]
I’m writing this Final Thoughts from our first in-person Steel 101 workshop in more than two years. It’s great to see everyone here in Memphis, Tenn. It turns out everyone has legs and feet. We are not all disembodied heads on Zoom or Teams. It’s also great to see so many people at Steel 101. […]
Sheet prices rose modestly across this board this week, following slight declines seen last week. Steel Market Update’s check of the market puts benchmark hot-rolled coil prices at $1,480 per ton, up $30 per ton from one week prior. Coated and plate products saw increases as well, moving upwards between $10 and $40 per ton […]
Flat Rolled = 52 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 44.4 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat rolled inventories edged down further in March. Inventories did not fall as much as expected, as attitudes about inventory changed with the reversal of pricing trends. At the end of March, service centers carried […]
Total mill shipments of steel products fell for the second straight month in February to 7.655 million tons, a 6.1% decline from January’s 8.153 million tons. Apparent supply also fell in February, down 12.1% versus the prior month, falling repeatedly and unable to maintain the momentum seen during the final quarter of 2021. This analysis is based […]
North American auto assemblies grew by 18.1% in March, expanding for the third straight month despite ongoing supply hurdles. Though North American production has improved since last December, March’s recovery was just 1% higher year on year. And it’s still 13.5% below the pre-pandemic period of March 2019. At the onset of 2022, the global auto […]
I shouldn’t say put a fork in this market and call it done. It’s probably too early for that. But some of the anecdotal indicators I mentioned last week are increasingly showing up in the data we and others collect. Take a look at today’s issue: Lead times are still rising, for the most part. […]
The competitive advantage foreign import prices hold over domestic steel is relatively unchanged from our previous update, with most prices moving just $10-$20 from last week, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices range from $305 per ton cheaper than domestic prices to $27 per ton more expensive, […]